


Out of Reach

by mtac_archivist



Category: NCIS
Genre: Action/Adventure, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Not Episode Related, Not a Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-20
Updated: 2008-07-20
Packaged: 2019-03-02 06:22:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13312323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mtac_archivist/pseuds/mtac_archivist
Summary: The first time he woke was to pain, confusion and total darkness. Gibbs and Dinozzo struggle to survive against an unknown threat. No slash, no spoilers that I can think of.





	1. Out of Reach Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Jessi, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [ MTAC](https://fanlore.org/wiki/MTAC), an archive of NCIS fanfiction which closed in 2017. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after August 2017. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator (and this work is still attached to the archivist account), please contact me using the e-mail address on [ the MTAC collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/mtac/profile)

  
Author's notes: Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters do not belong to me and I am making no money from this.  
Many thanks to Mr VP for the Beta. Any remaining mistakes are mine.  


* * *

The first time he woke was to pain, confusion and total darkness. His hold on consciousness was slight and he slipped away again almost immediately.

The second time he was more aware. Aware of the pain, the cold and the complete lack of visibility. He had no point of reference and, despite his best efforts, Tony DiNozzo slipped once more back into the semi-lucid world of his dreams. Nightmarish images assaulted him, flashes of light and dark, angry faces, whispered voices but none of it made any sense to his fevered brain and eventually he succumbed completely, his energy gone.

The third time he was woken by something nagging at his consciousness. The dreams had returned as nebulous and unrelenting as before and he fought to get away from the voices. He knew they were raised at him, could see angry intent on the faces but he didn’t know them, didn’t understand why.

The nagging persisted and gradually he became aware of a constant drip running wetly down his face as it lay on the ground. He focused on it, letting it drive the faces away and fought to open his eyes. 

Tony couldn’t understand why it should be so hard. His left eye stubbornly refused to move at all but, eventually, he managed to open his right eye a crack and breathed a sigh of relief as the blackness cleared slightly. He was lying on a stony surface, it was wet and uneven, he could feel something sharp beneath his cheek but the thought of moving was beyond him at the moment. Instead he concentrated on forcing his eye to open a little further until he was able to make out a blurry image in front of him. It was still dark but eventually he realised that he could see a little because the moon was shining.

“It’s stopped raining,” his foggy brain supplied after a time as he gradually realised that his clothes were sodden. Somehow he knew that this should matter to him but, for the present his mind barely registered the constant shivers of his body, nor did he have the energy to question what he was doing lying on rocky ground in the moonlight. 

Time passed. Clouds flitted quickly, blocking the light then releasing it again to shine down on the man who lay, still unmoving, on the ground.

Tony opened his eye again as awareness returned once more. Vaguely he wondered at the blurry shape in front of him. He felt that he should know what it was and suddenly it became important to him to find out. He squinted at it, trying to focus his vision. A sudden shaft of moonlight as the clouds cleared revealed the twisted stump of a tree. Cheered by his small victory he smiled slightly and moved his hand on the wet ground. Feeling leaf mould beneath his fingers he belatedly wondered just why he was lying in wet leaf mould in the middle of the night.

His mind supplied no answers only more questions. Coherent thought eluded him but a nagging sense of his predicament gradually began to make itself felt. He did know that he was cold. He was shivering constantly, the shivers aggravating the aches throughout his body. Gradually he realised that his head was doing more than just aching and belatedly he wondered if maybe that was why he couldn’t think straight.

Taking a quaking breath he tried to take stock. He was lying face down, he thought on a slope, his legs felt lower somehow than the rest of his body. He could make out at least one tree trunk and still felt rain dripping onto his face. The wind was blowing fiercly but, try as he might, he could hear nothing above it. Gradually he realised that he needed to move, staying put just wasn’t an option. Concentrating hard he moved his right hand nearer to his body. His fingers were stiff with cold but eventually he brought his hand up to his face and gingerly felt around his eyes. The skin on his forehead was tender and, he thought, swollen. Certainly he still couldn’t open his left eye and his head felt too heavy to lift.

Changing tactics he turned to his left hand. He couldn’t feel the fingers but tried moving them anyway. It was nearly his undoing as the movement sent a blinding pain along his arm. He screamed, his voice coming out in a rasping echo of its former self, his breath coming in short gasps. Sweat broke out along his forehead warming him momentarily before being cooled rapidly by the wind.

Long moments passed as he fought to remain conscious, breathing through the pain, dreading the thought of trying again. What the hell was he doing here anyway? Had he been rock climbing? He didn’t think so; he didn’t remember setting out to climb. Trying to distract himself he thought back but his mind remained blank. He found that he could focus on the practical more easily so he used his right hand to feel around gingerly for any sign of his climbing gear. He wouldn’t have gone out for more than a ramble without ropes and he certainly wouldn’t have gone climbing in a suit. His fumbling fingers halted as he realised that the wet cloth he was wearing was clearly not jeans and sweats. Now that he was concentrating he could feel the restriction of a tie around his neck. Not rock climbing then. Back to square one. Work? Had he been working? More than likely he reasoned dressed the way he was. He tried to think back. He knew who he was, could picture the bull pen, Gibbs, McGee, Ziva. Didn’t have a clue what day of the week it was.

Closing his eye he tried to picture his desk, the plasma, anything that might give him a clue as to what he had been working on, what might have brought him out here. He froze. Had he been alone or was one of the others nearby, trapped as he was, or worse? Sighing in frustration he realised there was nothing he could do about it. Unless. Of course, his cell. If it was working it would be in his pocket.

Slowly he inched his hand down towards his pants’ pocket, trying to control the shivers. His head swam with the slightest movement and his left arm and side throbbed unmercifully since his abortive attempt to move them. Finally his questing hand reached his pocket. He struggled with the wet fabric then nearly cried with frustration. His cell was not there. Weakly he slumped further into the ground, exhausted. 

From off to his left, somewhere among the trees, the sound of a cell phone ringing broke across the howling of the wind. Tony stirred, pushing vainly down with his right hand but try as he might, he couldn’t force his ailing body to turn. His cell might as well have been a hundred miles away rather than the scant hundred yards for all the good that it did him.

NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS

“Come on Tony, pick up.” McGee tapped his fingers on his desk impatiently, watching as the sky lightened over the DC skyline. He had been trying, unsuccessfully, to contact DiNozzo for the past five minutes. It was high time that his friend checked in whether he had caught up with Moroney or not.

“Still no answer?” Ziva looked up from where she sat at her desk, rubbing a tired hand across her face.

“Phones ringing, he just won’t pick up,” McGee answered, a touch impatiently. 

“Maybe he’s in a poor reception area,” Ziva reasoned.

“Should have checked in before he moved,” 

“Give him a few minutes then try again.”

“Gibbs isn’t picking up either.”

“I thought they’d caught up with each other last time they checked in?” McGee could sense the undercurrent of worry in Ziva’s voice, hell, he felt it too. Something was wrong. “They took a car from the pool yes?” she asked.

“I’m on it.” Tim reached again for the phone on his desk calling Abby for a track on the lowjacked vehicle.

“Where were they headed last time they checked in?”

Both agents turned to greet the new arrival, neither of them in the least surprised to see Ducky at such an early hour. He always seemed to have a sixth sense when something was wrong with the team.

“Tony had spoken to Fielding’s father and Gibbs had tracked down his step mother,” Ziva replied at once. “Neither had seen him since last week but Tony said that the father gave him a lead to Moroney. They were going to check him out together.”

“Did they give you an address?”

Ziva reeled off an upstate address. “It checks out as a store registered in the name of Frederick Moroney but we don’t know if they made it that far.” She too reached for her phone.

“Wait a moment,” McGee held up a hand to stop her. “If there is a problem we don’t want to tip him off. We should head up there; Abby is trying to track the GPS locator in the car.”

Daylight, such as it was, made driving a little easier but visibility was poor as the rain began again in earnest. McGee concentrated on the road and drove as fast as he dared. He had a bad feeling. Beside him Ziva was talking to Abby. 

“No sign of the car yet,” she updated McGee as she put her cell away. “Let’s head straight for Moroney’s store, see if we can pick up their trail there.”

“Try calling them again,” McGee suggested. “We may get lucky.”

Ziva got out her cell again but, like McGee, she didn’t expect to get an answer.

NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS

 

The insistent ringing woke Tony from an uneasy rest. The rain was cold and his shivering had intensified. He knew that he needed to move and tried to force his sluggish mind awake. Lying on his stomach as he was he couldn’t see any way of turning over without jarring his left arm which he was pretty sure was broken. He suspected that he’d bust some ribs on that side too but couldn’t be sure. Either he had to push up with his right hand, which was bound to also push on the left, or he had to tuck his right arm in and try and roll over which meant lifting his head. Grimacing he settled for the latter, bringing his legs up to try and help. The pain was excruciating and he only succeeded in turning his head partway into the mud. His stomach reeled threatening nausea as his head spun. Forcing himself over onto his back with a final effort he lay gasping as the waves of agony gradually localised. His arm lay limply across his stomach, swollen and bloody. His ribs were on fire and his head felt as though an army was hammering to get out.

He had no idea how long he lay there, he became aware that the ringing had stopped and hoped vaguely that his cell hadn’t died on him. It had to have been on all night and needed charging. Focusing slightly he clung to that thought trying to remember how or why he was so sure about the cell.

Suddenly he had it, the picture clear in his head. He was in the car with Gibbs, had finished talking to McGee and looked at the screen. He only had a couple of bars of power left. He’d said something about needing to charge it tonight. Gibbs had looked at his watch but it was still daylight outside the car windows. 

The picture faded and, although he could call it back, he couldn’t see or hear any more. Aside from the daylight he could see nothing from the car windows, could remember nothing of his conversation with McGee. Sighing in frustration Tony brought his attention back to his injuries. Although it hurt to breathe he could take a deep breath if he tried so he didn’t think a rib had punctured his lung. Rolling over had confirmed though that at least one rib on his left side was broken. He remembered the fierce stabbing pain all too well from a previous fall. His arm too, despite the rain there was blood on his hand and careful probing with his fingers revealed the swelling. He could move the fingers of his hand though so he decided it best to immobilise the arm as best he could and then try and forget it. He laughed hollowly, his voice sounding strange to his ears over the wind and rain and carefully eased his arm between the buttons of his shirt to lie against his chest.

There was nothing that he could do about either his ribs or his head so he tipped his head back gingerly and let the rain wash some of the mud and blood from his face before opening his mouth and savouring the cool liquid.

He looked up at the canopy above him, the trees were more scattered than he had realised. He lay amid a small copse on a hillside. The slope didn’t look too stable, small flurries of scree were being blown down the hillside by the wind. Tony knew from experience just how easily those flurries could escalate into full blown landslips.

He had no idea where he was and attempts to crane his head far enough back to see up the hill left him seeing stars and breathless with pain. He would have to stand up. Tony grimaced, it sounded so simple. Best not to think about it, he decided, pulling his legs up a little. They were shaking with the bitter cold but he thought they would hold him up. Pushing down with his right hand he eased himself onto his hand and knees, pausing to calm his breathing. Squinting he crawled lopsidedly closer to the nearest tree, biting down on his lip to keep from crying out. With a shaking hand he reached out for the trunk, gripping as best he could before forcing himself to his feet. This time he couldn’t keep from calling out, his cry soon lost to the biting wind.

Tony stood on unsteady legs while he gathered his resolve. He couldn’t make out the ridge of the hillside nor did he know exactly where his cell was other than somewhere off to his left. Then again, his cell may be out of power. Sighing he tried to decide. 

In the end the decision was easy, he simply couldn’t make it to the top with a broken arm and ribs, the slope was too steep and muddy to even contemplate. So was the trek across to his cell if he was being realistic but that, at least, might be possible. With one last breath he pushed away from his tree and stumbled towards the edge of the copse praying that his luck was about to change.

TBC


	2. Out of Reach Chapter 2

“Dammit,” Ziva cursed quietly, pressing the speed dial on her cell again.”It was ringing but went to voice mail,” she explained for McGee’s benefit. She pulled a face and closed her cell. “Now I’m getting the caller can’t be reached message.”

“They can’t both have their cells switched off,” McGee complained.

“I already tried Gibbs, his didn’t even ring and Abby has been unable to get an accurate trace either.”

“I’m getting a bad feeling about this Ziva.”

“One step at a time,” Ziva counselled. “Pull up here; we don’t want to tip him off.”

McGee parked at the side of the highway and they walked the last few yards to Moroney’s store. It was still quiet so the sight of a police patrol car outside immediately roused their interest. Quickening their pace they reached the store just as a patrolman was putting up an incident tape. Holding up his badge McGee introduced them both and gained access. Inside he made the introductions again to the detective who was obviously in charge of the investigation.

“Special Agent McGee and Officer David, NCIS. We’re here as part of an ongoing investigation.”

“Lieutenant Roberts,” the middle aged detective nodded to them before continuing. “Wouldn’t be after someone called Moroney would you?” he asked.

“Moroney’s the guy we’ve come to talk to,” McGee acknowledged. 

“You’re out of luck then,” Roberts frowned, leading them over behind the counter. A man lay there, obviously dead, his head a bloody pulp.

“Dammit,” McGee swore under his breath. “How long?”

“Near as we can tell somewhere between ten and midnight. The store was closed up so no-one noticed until early this morning when they were expecting Moroney to open up.”

McGee muttered to himself again before asking. “Any idea who did this? Murder weapon?”

Roberts shook his head. “We’re waiting on the coroner, stubborn old fool should be retired by now, he refuses to get up before six.”

Ziva smiled coolly, her lips pursed in thought. “Looks like repeated blows to the head,” she suggested. “Any other obvious marks?”

McGee bent down near to the body and finished adjusting his gloves, without touching anything he leant over and looked carefully. Finally he straightened. “Looks as though he’s lying where he fell, there’s a fine layer of dust on the floor, no sign of his being dragged anywhere.”

“The door was unlocked but closed,” Roberts offered, pointing across the room to an elderly lady sitting on a chair. A young patrolman was trying to calm her down, apparently with little success. “Doris there got tired of waiting and started rattling the door, when it opened she went in, found the body.”

McGee grimaced. “Still no news on the car?” he asked.

Ziva shook her head. “Abby says she’s got nothing from the BOLO or the GPS. They wouldn’t have hidden it themselves,” she reasoned. “The question is..?”

“Did they make it this far?” McGee interrupted, looking up from the body on the floor.

“Sir.”

McGee looked up sharply as a young officer burst into the back room.

“Sir,” he repeated breathlessly. “You need to come with me.”

McGee rose quickly to his feet and followed Ziva out of the room at a run. The officer led them outside. McGee’s puzzled frown quickly turned to concern as he spotted a young girl of no more than sixteen being supported by a female patrolman. She was clearly terrified and refused to make eye contact with anyone. Tim glanced over at Ziva then shook his head slightly before making his way over to stand a little distance from the pair.

“Miss?” he began gently.

She shook her head, looking up briefly before staring down at her hands twisting in front of her.

“Did you see something?” McGee persisted, trying to stem his impatience. “Please try and remember, my friends are missing, you may be able to help them.”

The girl looked up again, searching his face. McGee tried to appear as calm as possible although inside his emotions were raging. Finally she must have seen what she was looking for as she began to speak, hesitantly at first, before the words began tumbling out in almost frantic haste.

“I work with Jack, um, Mr Moroney, I was out back last night when this man came in. He wanted to talk to Jack and he didn’t see me,” she paused, starting to cry.

McGee prompted her gently. “What time was this Miss?”

“Tracey, my name is Tracey.”

Tim smiled at her, refraining with difficulty from asking why she hadn’t been missed having been out all night. That could come later. Instead he asked simply. “What time was this Tracey?”

“A little after ten, I remember because it was almost closing time.”

“Could you tell us what he looked like?”

“He was tall and real thin; he had to duck down a little to come through the door.”

McGee glanced at Ziva again, there was little doubt that Tracey was talking about Fielding, the man was unusually tall but he held out the photo from his pocket anyway. “Was this him?” he asked gently.

Tracey darted a quick look and nodded vigorously before turning away. “He seemed angry, kept pacing around and Jack was trying to calm him down.”

“Could you hear what they were talking about?”

The teen shook her head at Ziva’s question. “No Ma’am, they were talking real quietly you know? And I couldn’t seem to move my feet, I wanted to, but I couldn’t.”

“It’s OK,” Tim consoled quietly. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. How long were they talking?”

“It seemed like forever,” she admitted, a little more calmly. “But I don’t suppose it was. Jack turned to get something down from the shelf and,” her eyes teared up again and she stopped.

“And?” McGee prompted.

“And the man picked up a shelf bracket and hit him round the head. Jack sort of crumpled but he wouldn’t leave him, just went round the counter and kept hitting him.”

“You’re doing great Tracey,” McGee assured. “Did he see you?”

“No,” Tracey shook her head, “I don’t think so, I was real quiet and then this car arrived and two more men came in. He,” she took a deep breath and they had no doubt which ‘he’ she was referring to. “He came back here and hid, I was sure he would see me but he was watching the men. The younger one came straight back here and the older one started calling for Jack. He, he didn’t have a chance.” Her face crumpled as it all became too much again and she clung to the female officer.

This time though McGee had no idea which ‘he’ she was talking about. Keeping his voice calm but firm he asked. “Who didn’t have a chance Tracey?”

“The, the younger man. The tall man charged at him as soon as he got up here. Hit him in the head with the shelf bracket and he dropped like a stone but then he panicked. I don’t think he’d seen the older man from where he was hiding. He turned to run but then there was a shot and the older man fell to the floor too. The tall man froze for a moment but relaxed a bit when another man appeared. The other man had the gun. He seemed real cross with the first one and they argued for a minute. I heard them say ‘cops.’ The tall man wanted to leave at once but the other man seemed to take charge, he was calm and he dragged the older man over to the door and told the tall man to bring the younger one.”

“I was too scared to move but I heard a car a few minutes later.”

McGee held up pictures of Tony and Gibbs wincing as Tracey confirmed that they had been the two men injured. “Must have either taken their car or hidden it,” he said to Ziva, “it’s not around here.”

“I’ll extend the search area for the BOLO and see if Lieutenant Roberts can get hold of any CCTV footage,” she replied. “Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

McGee turned back to Tracey who had slumped to the ground utterly exhausted. “I’m sorry,” she muttered over and over. “I should have called the cops sooner, I just, I couldn’t, they might have come back.”

“You did just fine Tracey,” Tim murmured consolingly, “you’ve been a big help.” He handed her a card, wanting to get moving to add another two pairs of eyes to the search. “If you think of anything else, please call me.”

He made his way back inside and almost immediately spotted a discarded shelf bracket on the floor, blood pooling nearby. Still wearing gloves he reached down and picked the bracket up carefully, mutely showing Ziva who had returned with Roberts the bloodstains on the side of the heavy metal.

“Bag it for forensics,” Roberts ordered. “We’ll need to check it for Moroney’s blood type too.”

“Our ME is on his way,” Ziva interrupted, “this crime scene is part of an ongoing NCIS investigation.” She glared at Roberts, daring him to challenge her authority. Finally he nodded once.

“I’ll leave a couple of uniforms to secure the scene until your people get here,” he offered. “Truth to tell I’ll be glad to have one less case to work.”

Ziva nodded in return and turned back to McGee as Roberts left, issuing orders to his men. “Jenny is sending Simmons with Ducky, as soon as they get here we can get on with looking for Gibbs and Tony.”

“Good,” he replied. “Now if we only had a clue where to look.”

NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS

DiNozzo inched away from the tree and took a tentative step towards the next in line. His legs held though he had to grind his teeth against the pain the movement caused. The rain was unrelenting and seemed worse as he left the shelter of the tree. He watched the ground carefully, trying to avoid slipping in the mud and a few more cautious steps brought him to his goal. Holding it briefly he caught his breath, leaning his pounding head against the trunk. Three more trees then he would have to move out into the open. Glancing up at the sky he took in the unbroken dark clouds, it didn’t look as though the rain was going to stop any time soon but at least the sky had lightened enough for him to see where he was going.

Keeping his balance was difficult with his arm held against his chest but he hadn’t reckoned on the lack of depth perception brought about by only having one useable eye. He continually had to move his head from side to side to judge where he was going and the effort made him dizzy.

Finally Tony reached the last in the stand of trees. He had no idea how long it had taken him, his watch, which he could just make out without moving his arm, had broken in the fall. He really wanted to take it off, his arm had swollen uncomfortably around it, but the catch was against his chest. Sighing he squinted down at his hand. He could see his wrist but it was hard to tell the colour in the grey light. Either way the swelling around the strap was getting worse. Carefully he leant back against the trunk and undid the button above his wrist so that he could reach the catch. Thankfully he had worn the metal strap, pulling on a buckle didn’t bear thinking about. It took him several tries but eventually the catch gave way and his watch fell to the ground. He didn’t give it a second glance; he was too busy trying to breathe through the pain. His arm was on fire and it was all he could do to ease it back securely against his chest. With fumbling fingers he managed to redo the button to hold it in place before his shaking legs gave way completely and he slid to the ground.

He fought to remain conscious, focusing his eye on the rocks in the distance and eventually the dizziness and pain subsided enough for him to continue. Several curses later and he had succeeded in pushing himself back up the trunk of the tree. Taking a deep breath he let go of his anchor and stepped out onto the scree slope. The wind and rain battered his body and the shivers intensified. He leant forward with his head into the wind and managed several yards before the combined effects of his injuries and the weather brought him again to his knees. Gasping in pain he crawled on towards the rocks as best he could. It was hard to determine which rock to aim for as his vision became increasingly blurred, taunting him with duplicate and even triplicate copies of his target. Finally his grasping hand reached out towards a jagged rock but he had stretched too far and the ground beneath him gave way sending him tumbling further down the slope. A collision with a fallen tree broke his fall but by then he had long since lost his fickle hold on consciousness.

TBC


	3. Out of Reach Chapter 3

Gibbs opened his eyes slowly, blinking to clear his vision. His body felt heavy and movement seemed an impossibility. Nonetheless he twisted his head to the side from where it lay on the ground, trying to get his bearings. He could feel rough stone beneath his cheek but he was cold, so cold he was barely shivering. Frowning he moved his head slowly, taking in the barren landscape around him. Suddenly awareness returned with brutal clarity. He tried to sit up only to collapse as agony erupted in his leg. Stifling a yell he reached down and probed gently. Gradually the pain became more localised and he could feel the bullet wound in his right thigh. Cautiously he raised his head to look. He was soaking wet but there was a tell tale stain around the hole in his pants. Biting his tongue he steeled himself and felt around the back of his leg. No exit wound. Great, just when he needed to be up and moving. DiNozzo was out there somewhere and he was hurt. Even without closing his eyes Gibbs could see the image of the younger man lying on the floor of the store, blood pooling from the wound to his head.  
Thunder crashed overhead and Gibbs closed his eyes briefly at the lightning flash that followed. A sudden disturbance off to his left brought his eyes open at once and he twisted painfully around to get a better look. Something heavy was tumbling down the hillside towards him. Instinctively he began to make himself smaller, less of a target until, belatedly, he realised that it was a person heading his way and his protective instincts came to the fore. Pulling himself partly upright he strained across towards the plummeting body. It was no use, he was too far away and he watched helplessly as the body crashed into a tree. Horrified he realised that his fears were confirmed. It was DiNozzo. Adrenaline pumping through his veins he began pulling himself over to his agent, ignoring the pain from his leg as best he could.  
His progress was painfully slow and it took him nearly ten minutes to reach the younger man. During that time DiNozzo didn’t move at all. Gibbs could only see the left half of his face but most of that seemed obscured with streaks of blood and bruising. As he grew closer he could make out the swelling around his eye. Tony had ended up partly wrapped around the tree trunk and his body reminded Gibbs of an abandoned puppet, cast to the ground by a child. Fearfully he checked for any sign of movement but it wasn’t until he could almost touch his agent that he saw the slightest twitch of his facial muscles. Straining forwards he put his hand gently to Tony’s neck and held his breath until he found the pulse, slow but steady, beneath his fingers. Under his hand DiNozzo stirred slightly and attempted to roll onto his back, a movement which he quickly aborted as he let out a low moan.  
“Tony,” Gibbs coaxed, gently brushing damp hair back from the abused forehead. “You with me?”  
“Boss?” the whispered reply was like music to Gibbs’ ears. “You okay?”  
Gibbs bit back a smile. “About as okay as you are DiNozzo,” he replied. “Can you move?”  
In answer the younger man opened his good eye and, biting his lip, eased himself onto his back, away from the tree. “I’m good,” he ground out.  
“I can see that,” Gibbs replied sarcastically, looking the man over with a critical eye. “I take it that’s apart from the broken arm and the concussion.”  
“You noticed that huh?” Tony rallied, trying to lighten the mood a little. “I think I busted a rib or two as well,” he admitted. “But I can walk Boss, once I manage to get to my feet.”  
“Didn’t look much like walking when you crashed down the mountain Tony,” Gibbs reasoned, reaching forwards to check DiNozzo’s arm. Despite his feather light touch the younger man had a hard job stifling the scream that threatened, holding it back with a supreme effort. “Needs splinting,” Gibbs announced gruffly, looking around for something to do the job.  
“What about you Boss?” Tony asked, breaking the silence.  
“Took a bullet in the leg.”  
“Through and through?” the tone was hopeful.  
“Fraid not DiNozzo, looks like we have to do things the hard way today.”  
“Let me see,” as he spoke Tony pulled himself up one-handed against the tree, closing his eyes briefly against the sudden dizziness.  
“Sure you can see anything there DiNozzo?”  
“I can see lots of things Boss,” Tony said squinting down at Gibbs’ leg. “Including a damn great hole in your leg which is still bleeding by the way. Are you lightheaded?”  
“A little,” Gibbs admitted reluctantly but knowing that it was better for both of them to know what they were dealing with.  
“Can you reach my tie?” Tony asked, trying awkwardly to remove the sodden cloth.  
Gibbs pulled himself a little closer and eased it from the younger man’s neck, then Tony helped him to wrap it around his leg above the bullet wound before carefully pulling the largest branch he could reach from the tree and twisting it into the knotted cloth. He tightened it slowly, ignoring Gibbs’ gasp of pain, until the blood no longer bubbled from the wound.  
“You’ll have to keep an eye on the time Boss,” he said finally. “My watch is gone.” He looked vaguely down at his swollen wrist where it lay, still tucked into his shirt and grimaced. The limb looked pale in the half light and he could no longer feel his fingers. Distantly he became aware of Gibbs moving towards him again, two thickish branches in his hands.  
“You back with me Tony?” the older man asked. “You zoned out there for a while.”  
“Sorry Boss, bit fuzzy here.”  
“You might want to zone out again,” Gibbs suggested, allowing some of his concern to seep into his voice. “Got to straighten that arm out now.”  
Looking carefully at his boss DiNozzo realised that the older man was clutching some strips of cloth that could only have come from his shirt and, as he watched, these were placed gently on his stomach. Tony tensed as Gibbs reached forwards to unbutton the shirt holding his arm.  
“Deep breaths Tony,” Gibbs advised. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”  
DiNozzo tried to follow the advice and succeeded through the unbuttoning of his shirt but as soon as Gibbs took hold of his swollen arm the sudden burst of agony became too much and he yelled, trying, involuntarily, to pull his arm away.  
Gibbs pulled quickly, not wanting to prolong the suffering for his friend and wrapped the strips of cloth swiftly around the straightened limb holding the branches in place. He watched Tony closely for a moment; face creased in concern, before easing down beside him, deciding that they both needed a few minutes before they would be ready to move.

NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
Some distance away Mark Fielding paced the confines of a small room like a caged tiger. Across from him a man sat quietly watching. Eventually he seemed to tire of the relentless pacing. When he spoke his voice was deep without any inflection. “Calm down.” The words were softly spoken but they had an immediate effect on Fielding who froze momentarily where he stood before launching into an animated tirade.  
“He’s dead, don’t you understand that, I killed him. I didn’t mean to but I did and then you shot that cop.”  
“Not before you’d already killed the other one,” deep voice spoke calmly. “Anyway, they were Feds.”  
“And that makes it better?” Fielding was almost shouting now, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “How do you know they were Feds?”  
“They were carrying and the younger one had his badge on his belt.”  
“Well then we need to get rid of them.”  
“They’re not going anywhere.”  
“How can you be sure, the older guy wasn’t dead when we sent the car over the edge. What if someone finds him, what if he’s still alive? He saw my face.”  
“I had the impression they were looking for you anyway.” The look in his eyes was calculating as he studied the agitated cryptographer and it did more to calm him down than his words had done.  
Abruptly Fielding took a step back before regarding his companion cautiously. “Look,” he began. “You need me.”  
“I needed you, but I see no reason to keep you now.” As he spoke the man drew his gun and watched dispassionately as Fielding scrambled for the door before shooting him down where he stood. Putting his gun away he mused quietly. “You may, however, have had a point. Perhaps a little hunting is in order.”  
TBC


	4. Out of Reach Chapter 4

Tony stirred, shivering slightly as the cold wind picked up again raising little flurries of leaves. Beside him Gibbs was still and he turned his head carefully trying to get a better view. His left eye was still all but useless but the right seemed a little clearer than before. The older man’s eyes were closed and DiNozzo couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not. Slowly he reached out with his right hand finally connecting with the tree trunk and he pulled himself upright gingerly, closing his eyes against the persistent dizziness.  
He hated seeing Gibbs like this, it was just wrong, the man was a rock, his rock. Since the day he met him all those years ago in Baltimore Tony had felt safe, Gibbs’ presence filling a void he hadn’t fully appreciated was there at the time. Now he recognised it for what it was. The older man gave him a sense of belonging, of being cared for, that he had never really experienced growing up. Sure he had a strange way of showing it at times but Tony had only to look into his eyes to know that it was there, but now, now those eyes were closed and it was his turn to be there for the older man.  
He reached out gently with his good hand and sighed in relief as he felt the pulse at his neck. It was too slow but it was there. Tony checked the tourniquet, unsure of how long they had been out of it he carefully loosened it, letting the blood flow again. He prayed that it hadn’t been too long, it was impossible to tell; the sky was completely overcast, broken intermittently by flashes of lightning. Other than knowing it was daytime rather than still night he was at a loss. Thankfully the blood was no longer bubbling from the wound and he looked them over for something to wrap it with. Gibbs had already used his shirt on Tony’s arm and he didn’t think he could get his own shirt off without help. Sighing he reached forward again, Gibbs usually carried a handkerchief in his pocket. After a short search he found it in the older man’s pant’s pocket and was just leaning forwards to place the clean but wet cloth over the wound when he was startled by a voice.  
“Lost something DiNozzo?”  
Smiling Tony looked across, pleased to see his boss awake. He took in the lines of pain around his eyes before he replied. “Just covering your leg Boss, we need to get moving.”  
Gibbs nodded carefully before moving his hands ready to push himself up.  
“Um, wait Boss; I haven’t got this fixed yet.”  
“And just how are you going to tie it off DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked shortly, unable to mask the pain.  
DiNozzo closed his eye briefly not bothering to answer; he hadn’t thought that far ahead, he was operating on instinct. Between them they untangled the tie from the tourniquet and wrapped it around Gibbs’ leg before tying it off firmly. The simple task left them both breathing heavily but slightly warmer for moving.  
“Where were you heading before you fell?” Gibbs asked finally.  
DiNozzo looked blank for a moment, turning his head to look back up the slope. “I think,” he began. “I think I heard something but I can’t actually remember why we were out here.”  
“We weren’t,” Gibbs replied ruefully. “We were following a lead to Fielding which took us to Moroney’s store.” As he spoke he watched DiNozzo carefully and was relieved to see that the younger man was following him, the gash on his head looked nasty and very likely had resulted in a concussion.  
“I remember Fielding,” Tony spoke at length. “Can’t remember the store.”  
“I’m not surprised,” Gibbs smiled gently. “He hit you pretty hard. Unfortunately he wasn’t alone. His friend shot me and I was out of it for a while. They put us in a car, think it was ours and we drove for a while. Can’t say how long, think I passed out,” he grimaced. “Came to as they were pushing the car over the cliff, managed to open the door and push you out but the car rolled a bit further before I could follow you, not sure where it landed,” he admitted.   
Tony stared at him, trying to get his still sluggish mind around what he had been told. “Thanks Boss,” he said finally, realising that Gibbs had probably saved them both by getting them out of the car.  
“Don’t thank me yet Tony; I don’t have any idea where we are.”  
“McGee and Ziva have to be looking by now; maybe we should try and find the car?” Even as he said it Tony realised that it was a stupid idea. With nothing to break its fall the car would most likely have ended up much farther down the mountain and neither of them was in a position to get down there.  
“I have a feeling they’re not the only ones looking,” Gibbs spoke slowly, fixing his eyes on his agent.  
“Can’t deny the Gibbs’ gut,” DiNozzo quipped valiantly before pushing himself to his knees and reaching out with his good hand to help the older man up. “Better not sit around here then Boss.” He looked around. “Which way do you want to go?”  
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
In the anonymous motel room the man cast his eyes carefully around, looking at every surface until he was satisfied. In his bag he carried the remains of the towel he had used to muffle his shots; his pistol was out of sight in its concealed holster. Everything he had touched had been wiped clean and he was carrying everything that he and Fielding had brought with them, including the cryptographer’s id. He nodded, satisfied that he had removed anything that could lead back to him and delayed, at least, identification of Fielding’s body.  
He looked across at reception as he headed for his car, weighing the risk of covering his tracks there but the receptionist was checking in a large group and he figured that he would do more to call attention to himself by heading that way. Decision made he let himself into his car with economical movements and headed back to the highway.  
No-one noticed his departure.  
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
Their progress was tortuously slow. It soon became apparent that, try as he might, Gibbs couldn’t put any weight on his leg and he was just as lightheaded as DiNozzo as a result of the blood he’d lost. They had wasted time trying to find a long enough branch to support his weight before deciding that they would be better off supporting each other. Which in many ways was no different than usual, Tony mused as he adjusted his right armed grip around Gibbs’ waist. Gibbs had his left arm over Tony’s shoulder; they had found out the hard way that it was the position that jarred the younger man’s arm the least. Together they half walked, half lurched from one support to the next.  
There were a few straggly trees but mostly the support came in the form of boulders and rocky outcrops. By mutual agreement they had headed away from the direction of Tony’s fall, reasoning that that should mean they were putting more distance between themselves and the car. Although the car was likely to be the obvious place for Ziva and McGee to be looking for them both felt strongly that they needed to get away from it and scanned the ground carefully for any sign of habitation. So far no lights, tracks or people had been forthcoming.  
Tightening his grip again Tony squinted into the distance, aware as he shifted slightly of the increasing weight that Gibbs was putting on him. They needed to find shelter, and soon. Better yet a cell would be handy. He faltered, thinking, willing the clouds in his head to clear. Thinking was like wading through quicksand or maybe that should be grasping at leaves drifting in a breeze. He shook himself mentally, trying to take stock, what had he been thinking? He squinted across at Gibbs at his side, the older man was struggling. He hadn’t complained at all but Tony could feel the effort it took for him to take each step, felt each laboured breath against his side. They needed shelter, somewhere to stop and…a cell. Finally. He repeated the word out loud for fear of forgetting the thought again.  
“What’d you say DiNozzo?”  
“My cell, that’s what I heard.”  
Gibbs looked around, trying to hear the cell for himself. “No, not now Boss,” Tony said quietly, realising what the older man had thought. “Before, when I fell.”  
“Ah,” Gibbs took a deep breath and pulled himself a little more upright. “I take it you didn’t find it?”  
Tony almost shook his head but caught himself in time. “Didn’t reach it, to be honest I’m not sure I really heard it.”  
“Doesn’t much matter now Tony,” Gibbs said. “Think it’s out of our reach today.”  
“Think you’re right Boss, I don’t suppose you’ve got yours?”  
Gibbs frowned, cursing himself for not thinking of it sooner and pulled to a stop, adjusting his weight onto his good leg a little. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell, staring at it in disgust. He held it out for DiNozzo to see.  
Tony looked at it carefully for a moment before he registered that the battery was missing.  
“Sim card’s gone too,” Gibbs said quietly as he realised that the younger man was again having difficulty focusing. “Someone has a sick sense of humour.”  
“Cautious too,” DiNozzo agreed, looking carefully over at Gibbs before tightening his hold around the older man. “We better get going.”   
Steeling themselves they began again making their slow progress across the slope. Though neither man would admit it aloud both were becoming increasingly concerned, determined to do all they could to ensure the safety of the other. Behind them, still some distance away the man followed the path of the car he had sent to its destruction down the mountain, his only concern to cover his tracks before finally delivering his package and then disappearing forever.  
TBC


	5. Out of Reach Chapter 5

“There’s nothing McGee, nothing on either phone or the car,” Abby’s voice was tight with worry, two of her family were out there lost and hurt, she had to find them.  
As if echoing her thoughts McGee’s voice spoke calmly in her ear. “We’ll find them Abs, the evidence from Moroney’s store should be with you anytime now and we’ll have a helo in the air as soon as the storm clears,”  
“Do you really think they’re out in the open,” Abby worried. “Because Tony shouldn’t be out in the cold, not with his lungs and Gibbs has been shot and,” she trailed off as she realised that McGee had been trying to get a word in for some time.  
“Abby,” he lowered his voice as he realised he had finally got her attention. “Why don’t you go down and see Ducky until the evidence and the body arrive? I bet he’s just as worried as we are. Could probably use some company.”  
“Thanks Timmy, you’re right, company would be good. But you let us know just as soon as you find anything Mister.”  
“Will do Abby, I’ll talk to you later.” As he hung up McGee glanced across at Ziva, seeing his own worry reflected on her face. “How soon can they get airborne?” he asked.  
“Weather reports suggest the storm should clear in about another hour. They will take off as soon as they have decent visibility.”  
“Damn it,” Tim ground out with unaccustomed aggression. “I want to be doing something, not sitting around here.”  
Ziva looked at him calmly. “At the moment there is nothing more that we can do. The body and the evidence are on the way to Ducky and Abby, the LEOs are tracking down any CCTV footage, you have talked to the witness and there are no hits on the BOLO or GPS.”  
“I just can’t shake the feeling that we’re running out of time.”  
“I know McGee, I agree,” Ziva replied thinking. “We know they took them away by car, which way would you go?”  
McGee looked around him and headed outside. “Assuming I wanted to hide the bodies,” he grimaced, “to hide my tracks, I’d head out of town into the mountains. Unless I was local and had a hide out that is,” he finished uncertainly.  
“Well we don’t know who the accomplice was yet, you already have a search running on Fielding’s known associates so I suggest we go out of town and see what we can find.”  
McGee looked at her gratefully and reached into the pocket for his keys.  
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
Tony stopped, balancing precariously as he tried to ease Gibbs’ weight away from his arm without toppling them both. They had been working their way over towards a rocky outcrop that afforded meagre shelter but at this point he was ready to accept whatever was offered. Trouble was, he needed some help from Gibbs to get him safely to the ground. His ribs and arm were on fire though his head seemed a little clearer, probably the cold, he reasoned. Tapping Gibbs’ waist he tried to rouse the older man. “Boss, hey Boss, I need some help here.” He felt Gibbs tense beneath his hold as he struggled to pull himself upright so he continued his efforts. “That’s it Boss, just need you to wake up for a minute so we can get out of the rain.” He smiled as the older man responded quietly, his voice barely more than a whisper but to Tony it had never been more welcome.  
“Quit your nagging DiNozzo, I’m awake.”  
“If you say so Boss, in that case I need you to hold on to that rock there while I get you down.” As he spoke he guided Gibbs’ hand over to the edge of the rocky outcrop and, as quickly as he could, eased himself under the overhang before reaching his hand out to the older man. It wasn’t graceful but somehow they made it to the ground relatively unscathed and lay there, breathing heavily for a few moments until Tony levered himself up again to check on Gibbs’ leg. He grimaced as he saw the fresh blood which had soaked through his makeshift bandage and contemplated retying the tourniquet but that would mean undoing the dressing so he opted to leave it, tightening it as best he could with one hand.  
He started slightly as Gibbs spoke.   
“Don’t worry Tony; it’ll stop in a minute if we stay here for a bit.”  
DiNozzo looked over and smiled at the older man, drawing strength from the resolve in his eyes. “Can you see any buildings Boss? Things are still a little fuzzy here.”  
Gibbs brow furrowed as he allowed his concern to show. “Are you still dizzy? he asked.  
“Not so much dizzy as blurry around the edges Boss,” Tony replied, unwilling to admit to how distorted his vision still was. Gibbs had enough to contend with without worrying about him as well. Doubting that he’d fooled the older man for even a moment he reached his good hand out and felt Gibbs’ forehead; it was a measure of how exhausted the ex marine was that he didn’t even protest. Tony frowned, Gibbs was burning up, his wound must be becoming infected. Carefully he lifted the cloth covering the wound; sure enough the area around the entry site was becoming inflamed. Grimacing he considered his options. Realistically they were severely limited, he couldn’t see help getting to them anytime soon; it would take time before McGee and Ziva missed them and, even if they had done so by now, they were unlikely to know where to look. While he did have every confidence that they would find them eventually Tony knew that it was up to them to make do on their own for the moment. Then there was the other problem.  
“You still think Fielding’s coming Boss?” he asked, needing to voice his thoughts out loud.  
“Think someone is DiNozzo,” Gibbs replied quietly, his voice lacking its usual intensity, “but I don’t think Fielding’s in this alone.”  
“It’s going to take the others a while to find us Boss.” As he spoke Tony was carefully undoing his belt one handed.  
“You still got your knife?” Gibbs asked.  
DiNozzo nodded carefully. “Guess they either didn’t find it or it would have looked too obvious to take it.”  
“Then just get on with it Tony,” Gibbs said, not unkindly but having reached the same conclusion as the younger man.  
“Sorry Boss, got to sterilise it first, your leg is already infected. Do you feel hot?”  
Gibbs rewarded Tony with one of his infrequent gentle smiles, inordinately grateful for the younger man’s straight talking. “There’s a lighter in my jacket pocket, never know when you might need it.”  
“Always prepared right Boss? Can you hold the knife for me?” DiNozzo asked as he reached out carefully to take the lighter from Gibbs. He watched as Gibbs held the blade a little away from him waiting for Tony to douse it with flame. Gibbs’ face was creased with the pain he could no longer hide but Tony couldn’t see any lack of confidence. Still. “Are you sure you want me to do this Boss?” he asked tentatively. “Like I said, I still can’t see too well.”  
“How many knives can you see now?” Gibbs asked.  
“One and a half,” Tony began but at Gibbs’ look changed tack. “Seriously Boss, I’m not seeing double but I’m not exactly seeing clearly either.”  
“Damn sight clearer than me,” Gibbs growled. “Look, just try and get the bullet out but if you can’t, cauterise it anyway, it’ll stop the infection.” He sank back down, clearly exhausted and DiNozzo grimaced in sympathy, carefully playing the flame over his blade.  
He squinted critically at the hardened steel, it was hot so he cut the flame and took the knife cautiously from Gibbs, holding it into the rain to cool it again. “Sorry Boss,” he apologised quietly, “you’re going to have to hold real still and if you could try and hold the skin back…” he trailed off, looking meaningfully at the wound.  
Gibbs reached forwards with both hands trying not to let his fear show in his face. It was okay to acknowledge such feelings to himself but it wouldn’t help Tony any to see them. He knew that what he was asking the younger man to do was hard enough as it was, he didn’t want to make it any more difficult. Looking resolutely at DiNozzo he nodded for him to begin when ready whilst inwardly cringing slightly at the need to watch as the knife sliced into his flesh. With the first probe from the tip he bit down on his tongue but refrained from crying out by sheer force of will. His vision swam crazily and he felt bile rise in his throat. Swallowing rapidly he forced it down and tried to focus clinically on what Tony was doing. With his left arm pressed against his body he was forced to lean over slightly to keep his balance and his look of concentration with his eyes screwed half shut would have been comical under other circumstances. As it was Gibbs fought to remain conscious, knowing that Tony needed him to hold the wound open if he was to have any chance of getting the bullet out. Time passed in a blur as his eyes misted over but, finally, DiNozzo gave a small sound of triumph and Gibbs allowed himself to slip back down, his hand, wet with blood, sliding to the ground.  
Tony carefully slipped the bullet into his pocket, he couldn’t manage an evidence bag but the habit was ingrained. Besides the bullet was intact and may well prove vital in securing a conviction. He laughed quietly at his optimism as he pressed the handkerchief back onto Gibbs’ leg, hoping that it would be enough to stop the bleeding. He couldn’t reheat the knife without help and his shakes seemed to be getting worse. He turned his head slowly, looking around, the rain still fell heavily but he suspected that most of the fog came from his head rather than the clouds which did seem lighter.  
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
McGee smoothed the map down over the trunk and peered closely at the contours. The rain had eased and was now little more than a fine mist but he had to hold the corners of the paper down against the fierce breeze that whistled down the main street. Beside him Ziva pressed her arm down onto the other side of the paper and pointed a finger at their location.  
“We are here,” she began. “I believe that we should begin our search along this road.”  
“Why?” McGee asked, not doubting her intuition but wanting to know her reasoning.  
“The road here is open and exposed, it is not suitable for hiding a vehicle or a person,” she added quietly. “Whereas here the land becomes steep and wooded to give cover.” She pointed along the road to an area some miles out of town where the contours indicated a much steeper gradient and there were no signs of habitation.  
McGee shook his head, even on a good day the area would be bleak and inhospitable, today anyone out there would be at risk of exposure, hypothermia or worse, even were they not injured. He tried to push away the fear he felt for his friends but the icy fingers that seemed to be gripping his heart only squeezed harder.  
TBC


	6. Out of Reach

The man smiled as he spotted the car wreck near the bottom of the steep gully. It had travelled a surprisingly long way from where he had forced it across the road and he began to think that perhaps this would be a futile quest. There was no benefit in risking his freedom if his quarry were already dead. Irresolute he stood for a moment oblivious to the cold and the wind that beat at his ears and caused his clothing to flap around his legs. Finally the thrill of the chase overcame his concerns and, after checking his backpack, he made his way carefully down the slope.  
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
Tony stirred, becoming more aware of his surroundings as the pervading cold made its presence felt. His head lolled as his sluggish mind tried to fit the pieces together. Suddenly he jerked upright, crying aloud at the pain the movement caused. A sense of urgency filled him, though at first he had no idea why. Forcing his eye to focus he took in the dimly lit cave where Gibbs lay beside him. Gibbs. They needed to get moving, it wasn’t safe to stay in one place. He grimaced, not sure why but he trusted his gut and that was screaming at him to move.  
Gently he reached his good arm out towards Gibbs. The older man hadn’t stirred but when Tony felt his forehead it was cooler than it had been, whether as a result of the fever having broken or the intense cold he couldn’t be sure. Either way he had to wake him up. Reaching forwards again he shook the older man gently on the shoulder, relieved when he stirred at the touch. “That’s it Boss,” he praised, “come on, we need to go.”  
Gibbs opened bleary eyes but the look he turned on Tony was clear. “DiNozzo?” he asked.  
“We need to get out of here,” Tony repeated. “Can you get up?” As he spoke he pushed himself up from the ground one handed biting his lip against the pain. His head swam in protest before his vision cleared somewhat. Peering out of their make shift shelter he realised that he could see further than before, the rain wasn’t falling as heavily though the wind was still whipping up debris and little piles of rocks and twigs were dancing at the edge of the clearing. Screwing his eyes shut he could just make out the route they had taken on their way up to the cave; they were going to have to be more careful to cover their tracks. He grimaced, doubting that that would be possible. They would just have to try and stick to rocks underfoot.  
Sighing he pulled himself the rest of the way up using the overhang of their shelter. Once he felt steady enough he reached down his hand to Gibbs. The older man bore as much of his own weight as he could but his right leg was all but useless and it took the two of them to get him to his feet. Eventually though they set off again trying to keep out of the mud. They barely spoke beyond muttered words of encouragement to each other but each had his senses as alert as possible for the danger they sensed closing in on them.  
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
McGee drove as quickly as he dared along the slippery road. They had been climbing steadily for the past five minutes and Ziva was looking carefully out of the window for signs of a vehicle leaving the road. There was a steep drop down on their left but they had agreed to drive for a few minutes rather than to continue on foot so as to cover more ground.  
McGee’s cell ringing broke the strained silence in the car; he reached it out of his pocket and handed it over to Ziva, slowing a little so as not to miss anything by the road.  
“David,” she answered and listened carefully for a minute before replying. “Thank you, we will send a team as soon as possible, please wait for our medical examiner. They have found Fielding’s body,” she reported as she closed the cell. “Shot through the head.”  
“Damnit,” McGee yelled, uncharacteristically short tempered. “Where?”  
“A motel room in Harrisonburg, I will arrange for Simmons’ team to move on there when they have finished at Moroney’s store and call Ducky”  
Tim nodded before suddenly screeching to a halt, pointing. “There, are those tyre tracks?”  
Ziva left the car at a run leaving McGee to quickly pull the car off the road before joining her. “You are right McGee,” she said eventually. “Someone left the road here quite recently. It appears that they were attempting to conceal a vehicle,” she added, pointing to a slight mark further down the track. “But not well enough.” As she spoke she took her gun out and followed the path cautiously. McGee, trusting her judgement followed her but, for the life of him couldn’t see how careless the driver had been. Apart from the initial sign at the roadside he could see nothing out of order.  
Ziva moved forwards slowly, her eyes darting in every direction before she moved, ears alert for the slightest sound.  
McGee followed, careful to keep behind her and taking care to ensure that they were not being followed. That, at least, he felt able to do for he was damn sure that he couldn’t make any sense of what Ziva was apparently seeing. Still, she moved with comforting assurance and he kept everything crossed, figuratively at least, that they were moving in the right direction. One thing he was sure of was that Gibbs and Tony were running out of time.  
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
Smiling quietly to himself the man moved stealthily downwards. The trees that clung tenaciously to the side of the gully gave way to rocks as he neared the bottom where a raging river, swollen by the rain, surged along sweeping away everything in its path. The car lay wedged across a narrowing of the gully where the rocks reached out to embrace it in their hold. It was upside down, both rear doors hanging open and, even from where he stood looking down on the wreckage, it was clear there were no bodies. His own nerves tingling in anticipation he began to search the river banks, looking for any sign that his quarry had ever been there.  
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
“Tony.” Gibbs’ voice was barely a whisper as he called a halt for the second time in ten minutes and not just for himself either. He was acutely aware of the younger man’s laboured breathing and the increasing frequency with which he almost stumbled. At this point a trip from either of them would bring them both crashing to the ground. Gibbs knew in his gut that their team were coming, wouldn’t let them down, but what he couldn’t be sure of was whether or not they would reach them in time. He paused his thoughts, trying desperately to catch his own breath. The pain was becoming harder to bear, each step a jarring agony that spread through his very being. He knew that DiNozzo would never leave him, knew it as surely as he knew that he would never leave the younger man, he wasn’t even sure that he should encourage it. Together they maybe stood a chance. Alone, he doubted either of them could survive long. He looked around carefully from where he stood, leaning heavily against his friend. The rain had pretty much stopped for the moment but the cloud cover remained heavy. With the drop in the rain though the wind had increased tenfold, even in the minute they had stopped they had both begun shivering violently again.  
They were running out of rocky ground underfoot and he realised that they had been descending, almost unconsciously heading towards the tree line that their subconscious associated with a degree of cover, of safety. Beside him Tony stirred, seeming to rouse himself with an effort.  
“You okay Gibbs?” he asked, the rasp in his voice impossible now to mask.  
Gibbs ignored the question squinting instead along his arm at DiNozzo’s pale face. Finally he replied gruffly. “About as okay as you are Tony.” From his awkward angle the younger man’s face seemed like one giant bruise plastered onto an alabaster façade. He desperately wished that he could get him checked out by a doctor; he was worried about Tony’s weakened lungs after the prolonged exposure to the elements, let alone the concussion and broken bones.  
Mentally shaking himself he tried to force his thoughts back to their immediate situation. He was pretty sure that his fever had broken, DiNozzo’s doctoring, crude though it had been, seemed to have prevented his wound from becoming infected. He was in no doubt though that they were both running on their last reserves of energy. Without a rest neither of them would be going much farther today. His wandering thoughts were broken as Tony spoke again, gesturing gently with his head off to their right.  
“Is that a stream down there Boss? Can’t be sure?”  
Gibbs looked over, squinting himself, trying to be sure that what he was seeing was, in fact a bone fide stream and not just a rivulet caused by the heavy rain. Finally satisfied he grunted. “Yep, might be wide enough to hide our tracks if we can walk along it for a bit.”  
“Can’t get much wetter that’s for sure,” DiNozzo mumbled, gathering himself again.  
As one they set off slowly once more towards the stream.  
Some distance above them the man smiled as he watched before taking a much more leisurely stroll downwards in their general direction.  
TBC


	7. Out of Reach

Ziva pushed her way through the undergrowth carefully, moving the wet branches aside gently, eyes searching for any sign that someone had passed this way recently. She was tense, fearful for her team mates but many years of masking her emotions kept her professional front to the fore.  
Behind her McGee followed cautiously, frequently looking behind him. Within moments of entering the trees though his only view was of the towering trunks, marred by the undergrowth. The road had disappeared from sight. After about fifteen minutes of careful progress the prospect before them suddenly opened up and Ziva knelt down with a sudden exclamation, motioning McGee to do the same. “There,” she pointed. Off to their right the thinning forest was marked by several damaged and fallen trees. Something heavy had passed that way recently. Before them the ground had become loose and rocky underfoot and, cursing, she allowed her gaze to wander upwards seeing a much steeper, higher slope than the one they had descended.  
“We left the road too soon,” McGee all but growled next to her. “I knew we were climbing steadily, we should have carried on. It must have been obvious where they went over the edge.”  
Ziva looked at him and back at the damage to the forest, quickly agreeing with his assessment that a car had left the road but not that they should have waited. “Perhaps not,” she said slowly, “we are surely now closer to where the car ended up.”  
McGee whipped out his cell, “I’ll call search and rescue,” he said at Ziva’s look. “At least it’ll give them somewhere to start once they are airborne. If they get airborne, he muttered to himself. “I think we should have the ground search concentrate over here as well.” As he spoke he prayed that the car that they were tracking was the one that Gibbs and DiNozzo had been driving and not that of another poor unfortunate for he knew that they would be honour bound to help any civilians before they were free to help their friends.  
Looking at each other they continued more quickly towards the break in the trees, neither of them really wanting to know what awaited them at the bottom.  
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
Approaching the stream DiNozzo stopped abruptly and listened, turning his ear slightly towards the sky. Gibbs waited, knowing better than to interrupt though he was having a hard time hearing anything above the pounding of the blood in his ears and the whistling of the wind. “What?” he asked when Tony looked down once more.  
“Might have been a chopper,” the younger man said thoughtfully.  
“Not sure they could put a bird up in this Tony,” Gibbs said, not wanting to get his hopes up too soon.  
“Couldn’t set down here anyway Boss,” DiNozzo agreed, tightening his hold on Gibbs’ waist before stepping forwards again. “Would be nice to think they’d found us though,” he mused. “A hot shower sounds pretty good right about now.”  
“How about a cold soak?” Gibbs asked, pulling up more suddenly than was comfortable. “You planning on a swim DiNozzo?” he said, gesturing down at the stream with his free hand.  
Tony frowned, his exhausted mind slow to register how close they had got to the stream. He squinted down at the water, trying to gauge his footing. The water was flowing quickly but the stream itself was barely three paces wide. Tentatively he eased forwards and reached a foot into the water to test its depth. Gibbs held onto his good arm and they both stood on shaky legs as he made the attempt. Despite having already been soaked to the skin the water still struck as bitingly cold and momentarily took his breath away.  
“Oooh,” he muttered, suddenly more alert. “We won’t want to be in here too long.”  
Gibbs pulled on his arm, indicating that he should step out for a minute. He was not in the least surprised when the younger man began coughing and kept a firm hold on his arm until it was over, looking around carefully for any sign that his distress had caught anyone’s attention. He didn’t see anything but really that counted for very little considering the way his head swam and his vision alternately blurred and cleared. Frowning he realised that they had little choice but to try going downstream for a short distance then trying to find shelter. Paradoxically, at the back of his mind he was acutely aware that in their rush to avoid their pursuers they were making it much harder for their team to find them. Taking a deep breath he nodded as Tony gripped his waist once more and silently asked if he was ready. Together they stepped carefully off the bank and into the freezing water.  
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
“Lieutenant Roberts is sending search and rescue teams to focus out this way,” McGee reported, pocketing his cell. “But it’s still too windy for the helo.”  
Ziva grimaced, not surprised at the news but disappointed nonetheless. Finding their missing teammates would be a lot easier with eyes in the air. Suddenly she stopped, holding her hand up to halt McGee behind her. Tilting her head to the side she strove to find whatever it was that had caught in the faint shaft of light a moment earlier. Moving forwards cautiously, never taking her eyes from the ground she uttered a tiny cry of triumph as she pointed down at the small item, half buried in the debris of the forest floor. Quickly pulling on a rubber glove she reached down to retrieve it, holding it up for inspection.  
The broken face of the watch taunted them even as Ziva turned it over to look at the strap. “Tony’s?” she asked, already knowing the answer.  
McGee nodded numbly, paling as Ziva’s examination revealed a dark bloodstain marring the silver links. “Does that make it more or less likely that he was in the car when it crashed?” he asked the thought aloud.  
Ziva mused quietly for a moment, weighing the options. “I would say that he probably wasn’t,” she said finally. “It is unlikely that something as small as a watch would fall out of a moving car unaided.”  
“Can you pick up any other sign that he was here then?” McGee asked, “Or that Gibbs was?”  
Ziva cast about her, looking first at the tree nearest to the fallen watch. Quickly she placed the watch into an evidence bag before reaching her gloved hand forwards to examine the trunk. McGee found himself holding his breath as he waited for what seemed an age as she slowly circled the tree, looking both above her head and down towards the ground. Finally she spoke again. “He was here,” she said positively. “We know that he has a head wound,” she continued at McGee’s sceptical look. “There are traces of dried blood here,” she pointed above her head. “And you can see marks on the trunk here where something heavy has dragged against it. There are also further traces of blood,” she added, working hard to keep her voice steady. Despite his antics she cared for the missing agent, somehow he brought out a protective streak in her, though she suspected it was largely to protect him from himself. She had long ago recognised that he too carried more than his share of hidden demons. Cursing her distraction she again pointed, this time to an area a couple of feet up the trunk. “Here the scuff marks are in the opposite direction, I think he must have pushed himself to his feet again and gone” she paused, looking around carefully.  
“I think he was heading for those rocks,” Tim’s voice cut into her thoughts. “And before you ask, I have no idea why, it’s just a gut feeling.”  
Ziva studied his face for a moment before moving slowly in the direction of the large boulders her team mate had indicated, her eyes intent on the ground. Finally she spoke again. “I don’t think he made it that far McGee.” She pointed once again at the trail left by a falling object down the slope to their left.  
“Maybe not, but I think I know what he was heading for,” McGee said, reaching down to pick up the cell phone half buried near the rocks.  
“That has been there for some time Tim,” Ziva spoke up, her voice barely carrying over the rising wind. “Are you sure it is Tony’s?”  
Swallowing hard he indicated the display; 10 missed calls, McGee.  
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
“Damnit,” Tony cursed under his breath as his foot slipped, again, almost taking the two of them down into the freezing water and definitely jarring every hurt. Fortunately the cold seemed to have revived Gibbs somewhat as he was able to support them both as the younger man regained his balance.  
“You okay Tony?” he asked quietly.  
“Yeah, sure, why wouldn’t I be?” DiNozzo caught himself, letting his temper take hold wouldn’t help either of them. “Sorry,” he murmured, squinting a look sideways, trying to stave off the coughing fit that threatened. “How much farther d’you think we should go?” he rasped.  
“Haven’t come far yet,” Gibbs stated wryly. “Better try for that clump of trees,” he indicated the greenish blur about a hundred yards downstream with his free hand, acutely aware that they needed to get out of the cold as soon as possible. The way they were shaking it was no wonder they had slipped. The wind wasn’t helping either, rather than dying down as he had privately hoped it would it seemed to have gained in intensity, flinging small missiles at them regularly. He squeezed Tony’s shoulder gently, encouraging him to continue.   
Reflexively DiNozzo tightened his hold again before resolutely putting his foot down carefully on the gravelled surface. The water pushed against his legs, it was definitely getting deeper, either a result of the rain water tumbling downstream or their stream had been joined by a tributary. He neither knew nor cared. His world had become centred around the two of them, the need to put one foot in front of another, the need to keep Gibbs safe, to watch his six like always. So intent was he that he started as Gibbs’ arm on his stomach brought him to a halt. Looking quizzically over at the older man he frowned at his fixed stare before transferring his own gaze forwards.  
There, stood rock steady in the middle of the stream, was a man. The pistol in his hand aimed unwaveringly at them. The look on his face was impassive but DiNozzo couldn’t stop the single word that passed his lips.  
“You!”  
TBC


	8. Out of Reach

There, stood rock steady in the middle of the stream, was a man. The pistol in his hand aimed unwaveringly at them. The look on his face was impassive but DiNozzo couldn’t stop the single word that passed his lips.  
“You!”  
Gibbs stiffened beside him as he too recognised the man looking little different than he had up on the plasma in the bullpen. He was taller than he had appeared on the screen but, given his son’s unusual height he supposed that wasn’t surprising.   
Gibbs felt Tony straighten up as he muttered, “I should have known, I did know you weren’t telling me the whole truth, that’s why we went to see Moroney together.”  
“Yes, thank you for that,” Fielding Senior smiled. “I wasn’t too sure how I was going to track down your partner here.”  
“Where’s your son?” Gibbs asked, loosening his hold on Tony’s shoulder, instinctively preparing to put some distance between them to split Fielding’s attention.  
“Served his purpose,” Fielding sneered. “Never thought the little runt would actually go through with it.”  
“Not another one,” DiNozzo muttered. “You know I’m pretty sure that fathers aren’t supposed to act like that, at least that’s what I’ve been told.”  
“Damn straight they’re not.” Gibbs squeezed Tony’s shoulder firmly, hoping that both of his messages got through.  
He needn’t have worried, at the signal DiNozzo used his good arm to help propel Gibbs over towards the left bank whilst at the same time diving forwards himself using his right arm to reach out towards Fielding. He missed but the distraction was enough to stall the tall man momentarily, allowing Tony to force his aching body out of the water and behind a boulder.  
Gibbs wasn’t so lucky and found himself once again with the pistol pointed at his head. Fielding had lost a little of his composure but it was clear that he had recognised something in the relationship that the two federal agents shared.  
“You’ve got ten seconds Son,” he sneered, “or I’ll shoot your partner.”  
“Gonna shoot me anyway,” Gibbs said calmly, stalling for time. “Didn’t come all the way out here just to gloat.”  
“True enough,” Fielding agreed, eyeing the older man.  
Behind the rocks Tony worked frantically at his belt, cursing as the leather refused to budge. His fingers, stiff with cold, finally seized on the knife that had saved his life more than once and he fleetingly cheered that he had taken the time to put it back after treating Gibbs. At the time the effort had been almost too much but now he doubted if it would have been safe in his jacket pocket. Mentally weighing his options he made his decision and reversed the knife in his hand. He knew its balance was good and he figured he had a much better chance of hitting Fielding with it this way than by trying to get close enough to stab him. Readying himself he listened, waiting for Gibbs to give him an opportunity.  
In the end he almost missed it. Fielding had obviously tired of the cat and mouse game and DiNozzo barely made it to his knees as he heard the sharp crack of the gun being cocked over the noise of the wind and the blood rushing in his ears. Desperately he raised his arm, took aim and threw in one smooth motion.  
Afterwards he would never be sure what had happened first, the shot being fired, Fielding’s lost look as the knife hit him squarely in the shoulder forcing him to his knees, or Gibbs falling back onto the river bank.  
Frantically he forced himself forwards, stumbling into the water as his battered body refused to co-operate. The gun was still in Fielding’s hand and the man still conscious, he had to reach him before he could fire again. His vision narrowed, focused only on the gun in Fielding’s hand and the look in his eyes. He saw the moment the man’s focus shifted to him, saw his arm move, finger tightening on the trigger, knew that he wouldn’t reach him in time. Almost without conscious thought he tensed, ready to throw himself sideways, praying that he had the energy.  
“Freeze, NCIS.”  
The voice startled him, such had been his focus and he leapt anyway only registering the shots in slow motion as his exhausted mind shut down. Fielding seemed to hang in the air as his body was flung backwards, the resulting splash soundless to his ears.  
He came back to awareness to find himself lying next to Gibbs, tightly wrapped in a thermal blanket. Gibbs’ eyes were shut and Tony tried to push himself up only to feel a gentle hand on his shoulder.  
“Take it easy Tony,” McGee smiled down at him. “He’s going to be fine.”  
“But he was shot.”  
“Not shot DiNozzo,” Gibbs’ voice was soft but Tony could hear the frustration in it. “I slipped; damn leg gave out on me.”  
DiNozzo started to laugh but couldn’t stop the coughing fit that assaulted him. Quickly McGee supported him from behind but, despite his gentleness, the sudden movement caused waves of pain to wrack his abused body. With a final glance to check on Gibbs he allowed his eyes to close as he gave in to his body’s demands.  
Beside him Gibbs watched in concern until the younger man’s breathing evened out and the lines of pain eased on his face then, he too, relaxed into sleep.  
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS  
Hours later Tony woke again with an unfamiliar sense of calm. He was warm he realised and pain free which, now that he came to think of it, was a blessed relief. He hadn’t realised how much the constant agony had become a part of him over the past, he tried to think how long but drew a blank. He turned his head carefully and quickly decided that the pain was only gone so long as he kept still. Closing his eyes against the dizziness he listened and became aware of gentle snoring off to his right. Smiling, he opened his eyes again to confirm his suspicions, thankful that he had already begun turning his head in that direction. Gibbs lay, sound asleep on the next bed, which, now that he thought about it made sense. They were obviously in a hospital somewhere; if he squinted he could see an IV line attached to his hand. It was daytime too he noticed, finally registering the sun streaming through the window. Experimentally he moved the fingers of his left hand, relieved to feel only a dull ache and the stiffness of a cast restricting his movement. Looking at Gibbs again he registered the cage keeping the blankets from touching his leg but his sudden fears were immediately quashed as his squinting revealed what could only be both feet sticking up at the end of the bed.  
Resting his head back with a sigh he was only slightly surprised to hear Gibbs speak.   
“You finally awake then DiNozzo?”  
Lacking the energy for a witty reply he merely answered with a heartfelt, “Good to see you too Gibbs,” which the older man acknowledged with a wry smile.  
“How long have we been here?” Tony asked belatedly a few minutes later.  
“Got here yesterday afternoon but you slept through most of it.” This time the smile was obvious in his voice.  
“Had some beauty sleep to catch up on Boss.”  
Gibbs snorted and Tony sighed in contentment at the familiarity of the moment.  
“How much do you remember?” Gibbs asked after satisfying himself that the younger man was indeed going to stay awake this time.  
“I remember Fielding Senior showing up with a gun and I can remember McGee saying that you’d be fine. Gets a little fuzzy after that,” Tony admitted.  
Gibbs nodded. “He and Ziva tracked us into the hills outside of town. Seems that Fielding and his son were the ones who attacked us at the store but they hadn’t realised that there was a witness.  
“Witness?”  
“To Moroney’s murder and the attack on us. Young girl who worked at the store, McGee said that she was terrified but helpful, recognised Fielding Junior and us from photos. They used Fielding’s picture for a BOLO which was used to identify his body in a motel room in Harrisonburg. He’d been shot in the head.”  
“I’m guessing that was the work of Daddy Dearest,” Tony put in, more bitterly than he’d intended.   
Gibbs looked at him intently, recognising the hidden pain that the younger man usually masked behind his flippant exterior. “You were right you know,” he added finally.  
“When?” DiNozzo was puzzled.  
“When you said that fathers weren’t supposed to act like that,” he held the younger man’s gaze. “Most fathers take a pride in their children’s accomplishments and love them for who and what they are.”  
Tony frowned at the unusually emotive declaration from his generally taciturn superior but Gibbs’ next words warmed him deep inside. “I’m proud of you Tony.” The words were softly spoken but DiNozzo was left in no doubt as to Gibbs’ sincerity, the look in his eyes spoke volumes.  
Before either could reach the stage of embarrassment they were interrupted by a quiet tap on the door followed by a much more exuberant voice. “Move aside McGee,” Abby said enthusiastically. “It’s time they were awake.”  
Tony braced himself for the onslaught as Abby launched herself in his direction in full hug mode but she was surprisingly gentle as she leant forward and kissed him softly on the cheek before repeating the action with Gibbs whom she had clearly spoken to earlier.  
“He’s awake,” she announced as McGee, Ziva and Ducky followed her into the small room making it seem rather over crowded.  
“What did you find Abs?” Gibbs asked once they were all settled.  
“There were no prints from the motel room it had been wiped clean,” she began. “But Ducky extracted the bullet from Fielding’s head and I was able to get a match.”  
“You found the slug?” Gibbs was incredulous, “it went wide as Tony’s knife hit Fielding’s shoulder. Didn’t think it would be traceable.”  
“Didn’t find that one Boss,” McGee took up the tale, “but we did find the one that hit you. It was in Tony’s pocket, EMTs found it when they took off his wet clothes.”  
“It’s a definite match Gibbs,” Abby interrupted again. “Which means that the person that killed Fielding Junior used the same gun that shot you and McGee’s witness recognised Fielding Senior from his picture. We’ve just heard back from Lieutenant Roberts.”  
Gibbs smiled at her enthusiasm but there was one more thing.  
“We recovered the ciphers too Gibbs,” Ziva read his expression easily. “Fielding was carrying them in his back pack, along with his passport and an air ticket to Brazil.”  
“Just one?” DiNozzo asked.  
“Just one,” Ziva replied, not missing the significance.  
Ducky caught the look that passed between Gibbs and DiNozzo and got to his feet. He knew something of Tony’s family history and could imagine that the recent revelations had hit a little too close to home. In his opinion the best person to bring comfort to the lad was Gibbs, albeit his methods were often unorthodox. “Come along everyone,” he said, raising his voice slightly. “Let us leave our friends to their rest.”  
They filed out slowly saying their goodbyes with promises to return the next day. Throughout neither Gibbs nor Tony said a word both caught up in their own thoughts. Gibbs knew that the younger man needed reassurance but it was not in his nature to be overly demonstrative.  
DiNozzo for his part was feeling weary beyond words which made it hard to ignore the painful memories that he usually kept deeply buried. He glanced over at Gibbs and recalled the look on his face when the ex gunny had told him that he was proud of him. Gibbs wore the same look now as he stared intently at him and almost immediately Tony’s heart lifted and he pushed the memories of his father back where they belonged, in the past. His present and future were right beside him and, finally, he smiled.  
The End.


End file.
